


The Godfather

by LoquitorLatinae



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: (which is actually sort of canon?), Gil's okay with it, Kid Fic, M/M, Meri Ryder, Past Scott Ryder/Reyes Vidal, Reyes saves the day, another mission that ends up on Kadara
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-03
Updated: 2017-08-03
Packaged: 2018-12-10 11:58:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11691159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoquitorLatinae/pseuds/LoquitorLatinae
Summary: With the founding of Meridian and a temporary victory over the Kett, Scott and Gil are finally able to enjoy the results of all their hard work. Most importantly, with Jill's help, they're able to raise their daughter, Meri, together with the help of their friends and family. But when Meri is kidnapped from the Nexus during a routine visit, an old friend takes the lead in hunting down the criminals that took her.





	The Godfather

**Author's Note:**

> Let's be honest; Reyes Vidal would be the best damn godfather you could ask for.
> 
> Despite my obsession with it, this is my first foray into writing for Mass Effect! I did my best and hope you enjoy.

Scott and Gil waited until they were sure it was happening before they told anyone they were going to be parents. The first to know was, of course, Sara. Scott never kept anything from her and called her at her new apartment on Meridian the second they got off the comms with Jill and the small swell of her stomach, proof that the procedure had been a success. Sara had been ecstatic and between her and Scott celebrating over the comm line it wasn’t long before everyone on the _Tempest_ heard the news too. They were all happy for them, genuinely happy, and some of them—Vetra and Drack—even excited at the prospect of having a kid on board.

The next six months were the longest of Scott’s life. Gil was better at playing it cool at first, cracking a joke whenever Scott started worrying too much and lying in bed with him sharing whispered promises of their future together at night. But as they crawled into the last few months of the baby’s gestation period, Scott noticed that Gil had begun to fuss more around the ship. He started driving everyone, especially Kallo, up the wall by running tests ridiculously early in the morning that evolved into new safety protocols by the afternoon. Suddenly, everything needed to be upgraded and cleaned and greased and whatever else it was Gil did. Scott tried to stay out of his way when he got into his moods. He was lucky if he could lure him out of the Engine Room for a meal and some sleep. Sex was usually a pretty good bargaining chip.

It was during the final month before the baby came that the idea of fatherhood really hit home for Scott. They had a baby shower and suddenly his room was crowded with a crib, toys, and a few articles of baby clothes Vetra had scrounged up from somewhere. They’d picked Sara up from Meridian a few weeks before so that she would be there to help early on and everything was finally coming together. Until Scott realized that there was still one person in his life he hadn’t told yet.

The thought hit him one night after everyone had gone to bed. Gil was curled up around him, his breath a warm comfort on the back of Scott’s neck and one of the engineer’s arms was draped around his waist. He was tempted to just left himself drift back off to sleep but, no, this was important and he didn’t want to forget again. Groaning, Scott blearily blinked his eyes open and flung an arm toward his nightstand where he had put his datapad last night. Gil grumbled against him and Scott felt him wake as he shifted up to sit back against the headboard. “Mm…what’re you doing?”

Scott grinned as the other threw a stubborn arm back around his waist and tried to pull him back down to the mattress. “Hold on…I just remembered someone I forgot to call.”

“It can’t wait? Ugh…feels like I just got to sleep…”

“Sorry.”

“…No you’re not, look at that smug little smile.” Gil heaved a sigh then nuzzled his face against Scott’s bare chest. “Fine. Audio call only though…video is too bright.”

“You got it.”

He dialed up the number with one hand, his other hand going to run through Gil’s hair, soft now that it wasn’t styled; he would say something but he and Gil took about the same amount of time styling their hair in the morning. His thoughts drifted back to the matter at hand when the call connected and sound pulsed softly from the speakers.

_“Hello, Scott. It has been a while.”_

Gil grunted in understanding at the sound of Reyes Vidal’s accented voice, bringing another smile to Scott’s lips. “Hey, Reyes. Sorry about the radio silence, I’ve been pretty busy ever since Meridian.”

 _“Understandable,”_ Reyes let out a quiet laugh, _“I am sure the Initiative has plenty for the heroic human Pathfinder to do.”_

Scott’s smile widened. He was teasing him. He regretted more than ever not calling his ex-lover more often. After their adventure on Kadara, he and Reyes had come to a sort of understanding. It had been fun and passionate and hot as hell but Scott knew that Reyes wasn’t interested in being in the sort of long-term relationship that he was after. And Reyes had admitted as much when Scott had asked him about it one night when they were tangled together beneath the sheets, their skin lit by slits of flashing neon light slipping through the blinds of the room they’d rented in the Port. But when they parted, they left as friends. Good friends. Scott was one of the few people who knew that Reyes was the Charlatan and that made him one of the few people who Reyes could confide in. And Reyes was one of the few people outside of the _Tempest_ crew who knew Scott—intimately—and who Scott felt comfortable enough to be himself around.

“They’re doing their best to keep me busy but, it’s more than that. Gil and I are going to have a baby. Through a surrogate, obviously. Gil’s friend, Jill.”

 _“Oh?”_ He heard a soft whisper of fabric and wondered if Reyes was in bed. Hopefully; the man needed to treat himself better. _“Congratulations. I know you will make a wonderful father.”_

“Thanks,” Scott laughed. “I appreciate your vote of confidence.” He wasn’t so sure but it was good to hear.

Reyes hummed and it was as if he’d read Scott’s mind. _“You don’t give yourself enough credit, my friend. I have full faith in your abilities.”_

“Thank you, Reyes. The baby should be here within the next few weeks but I realized there was something I forgot to do. Besides just tell you, of course. I wanted to know if you would be their godfather?”

There was a long beat of silence and for a moment Scott was afraid that they’d lost the signal and dropped the call but then Reyes’s voice finally crackled back through. _“Godfather? A rather antiquated title, don’t you think?”_

For as well as Reyes could read him, Scott couldn’t make heads or tails of what Reyes might be thinking now. “Alright, then would you like to be ‘the man who will be like a second parent to our child and, if Gil, Sara, and I should die in some horrible accident, be willing to take custody of said child and treat them as your own’?”

_“Point taken…Would your Gil be alright with that, given our history?”_

Ah, there it was. Scott opened his mouth but before he could answer, Gil beat him to it. He scooted up on the bed and leaned against Scott’s side to better speak into the pad. “Yeah, I would. You don’t need to sneak around, Reyes, Scott spilled the beans on all of it. It was before we started our thing and I can hardly blame him.” Scott elbowed Gil in the side and he laughed before continuing, “Sara has already claimed the ‘godmother’ title but Scott suggested you as ‘godfather’ and I didn’t have anything to say against it.” Scott whispered a short ‘thanks’ and pressed a kiss to Gil’s forehead. He honestly had expected that it would be harder to convince Gil that a crime boss of one of Andromeda’s seediest ports would be a good candidate but he agreed almost immediately. He suspected that it had something to do with Reyes swooping in to the rescue during the battle at Meridian.

Another beat of silence, this time registering as surprise, until finally, _“Then I would be honored.”_

Scott released a breath he hadn’t known he was holding. “Great! Fair warning: your inbox is going to be inundated with baby pictures soon.”

 _“I look forward to seeing my godchild,”_ he replied, and Scott could hear the smile on his face. _“Perhaps…once things have settled we can arrange a meeting so that I can see them in person. I doubt any of us would want you to bring them to Kadara but perhaps Meridian or Eos?”_

“I’d like that. I’ll work it out and send you some dates to pick from soon.”

_“Good. It is nice to hear from you, Scott. And Gil.”_

“You too, Reyes. I’ll try to call more often but feel free to call whenever you want. My line’s always open.”

_“An indulgence I don’t take for granted, Pathfinder.”_

Scott laughed. “Only the best for the King of Kadara.”

Reyes laughed too, _“Enough of that. I’ll talk to you soon. Get some sleep.”_

“You too. Goodnight.”

As he closed the link, Gil bundled him close again, grinning against his shoulder. “I can’t believe I’m dating the former mistress of Kadara.” Scott groaned and Gil’s grin grew. “You went from royalty to dating a peasant like me, eh? Quite a step down—”

Scott cut off whatever else he was about to say—probably involving a pun—with a kiss.

 

The next six years passed in a blur. There was always something to do: a dignitary to visit, a dispute to settle, a world to explore, an ass to kick. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Scott wondered if it would be better for them to settle down planetside, maybe Meridian or even Eos, but then he looked at his daughter, Meri, and realized that, while unconventional, she was learning so much more than most could hope to in their entire lifetime. Two months ago, she had just turned five and it was hard to believe how much she had grown. She had been healthy at birth but small enough that she had fit into the crook of Scott’s arm from wrist to elbow. Whenever he had to attend to his duties off-ship Gil had her wrapped up and secured her against his chest as he worked on the _Tempest_ and the _Nomad_. That is, when one of the other crew didn’t have her.

Despite waking everyone up by crying at all hours of the night, she quickly became everyone’s favorite on board. They would all take turns watching her and as she grew old enough to talk and walk she could be found everywhere from sitting in Suvi’s lap at the helm to listening to Jaal’s stories in his room to watching cartoons with Liam on his ratty couch. He was pretty sure Lexi had started an entire case study on Meri and he was also pretty sure that Peebee was teaching her how to swear in other languages.

Genetically, she was Gil and Jill’s child but, though she physically resembled Gil with her red hair, everyone said that she took after Scott. Apparently because she got into everything and constantly asked questions about everything and everyone. Scott took it as a compliment. Each day it felt like a new little adventure.

Having Meri also seemed to solidify the crew as a single unit more than ever. Scott would have said so before but now they really were like a family. Sara even spent more days on the _Tempest_ than off it and they had regular visits with both Jill on Eos and Reyes wherever they could arrange a meeting. Reyes always made sure to visit a few weeks before her birthday when he would bring her a present, which always made Scott smile. Not just because he always took the time to visit and bring her a gift but also because Reyes always came on the day that Scott and Gil asked him to be her godfather. He didn’t know if Reyes knew he’d made that connection, but it was always a good reminder about what a good man Reyes really was beneath all the masks he wore as the Charlatan.

Their current mission was as ordinary as it came: the were to report back to the Nexus to speak with the Initiative admins and resupply. The crew was all in good sprits as they landed, everyone relaxed by the repetition. They had just gotten back from Havarl where a rylkor had almost taken a bite out of Scott before Cora and Jaal were able to put it down. He hadn’t told Gil about that part. After that, it felt good to be back on the Nexus. He knew that feeling would fade as soon as he started talking to Tann so he was going to appreciate it for as long it lasted.

Right now though, right now was perfect. He was walking down the gangway with Gil, Meri between them and each holding on to one of her hands. She was giggling, always happy to be back on the Nexus because of two reasons: they always got her ice cream and she got to spend time with Sid, who seemed to relish the chance to be a big sister figure herself. But today Sid was busy so they took Meri to a daycare center that had been established near the Cultural Exchange Center, mostly to accommodate angaran children visiting the Nexus but also to handle the small number of young Milky Way species that were being born around Andromeda. The person in charge of it was an asari and happily welcomed Meri inside, well known at the Nexus not just as one of the few human children but as the child of the human Pathfinder.

As they said goodbye, Gil and Scott both crouched down in front of her. Scott smiled and ran his fingers through her wavy red hair. “Okay, Meri, we have to go to work. But we’ll be back in a few hours and then we can go get ice cream. Sound good?”

Meri looked around then nodded. “Okay, Dad!” She was already so much more comfortable around the other children—three angaran, two asari, a turian, and a krogan baby—than would’ve been expected of a young girl her age. The benefit of growing up in such a diverse group.

Gil grinned and reached out to take her wrist. “There’s Daddy’s brave girl. But here, Uncle Jaal and I made you something.” As he spoke, he slipped what looked like a small watch around her wrist. “It will tell you what time it is and if your Dad and I aren’t back by five o’clock, you can use it to call us and ask where we are. Of you could just call to say ‘hello’ if you want.”

“Though I’m going to be in a meeting so you might have to call Daddy for a ‘hello’. But I’d rather be talking to you,” Scott winked.

It earned him another giggle from his daughter and both he and Gil kissed the top of her head before standing and waving as Meri skipped into the room to find someone to play with. They waited a moment to make sure that she would settle in before finally turning and walking away. As they left, Scott moved his hand to rub the small of Gil’s back. “That’s never easy.”

“She’ll be fine. She makes friends better than either of us.” Turning, Gil gave Scott a quick kiss. “Don’t have too much fun with Tann and the others.”

“Oh, yeah, I’ll have _so_ much fun. Tann is my favorite person.”

“I know this about you.”

Scott laughed then shook his head. “I can’t even pretend anymore, I’m gonna to be sick.”

“No one wants that.”

Grinning, Scott kissed Gil again. “If you’re done before I am, swing by and pick Meri up. Do something fun.”

“Same to you. Now, go get ‘em.”

 

Six excruciating hours later and Scott was finally released. The first call he made was to Gil. “I need a drink. Please tell me you’re with Meri and are somewhere they serve drinks?”

“Sorry, hun. I just got done with finding all the extra parts I needed for our next upgrade. They had me running all over the damn place. So what I’m saying is I am all for having a drink with you. How about we meet up at the daycare, grab Meri, then go to that restaurant they just opened up. I hear they have a few krogan dishes on the menu that we can dare each other to eat after those drinks. And ice cream for Meri.”

“Sounds perfect. See you in five.”

Just the promise of a nice evening was enough to improve his mood and there was an extra bounce in his step as he headed for the Operation transit center. At this time of day, the lines were pretty crowded but Scott squeezed into the car. Luckily, it was a short ride back to the Docking Bay but it was even more crowded when he stepped from the car. The population of the Nexus had grown over the years and everyone was heading back to their apartments after work or going out to find food or meet their friends. It was a good kind of busy, the kind that showed just how much the Milky Way species were flourishing in their new home.

At least, it was mostly good.

As he made his way up the stairs from the transit center, Scott grunted as someone walking the other way hit him with their shoulder, hard. Scowling, he looked back and was taken completely off-guard by the smirk the other man sent him, a turian walking beside him letting out a dark chuckle. Alarm bells went off in his head but, no, that was it. They looked away and kept walking and Scott was forced to do the same by the swell of people coming up the stairs behind him.

What had that been about? He hadn’t recognized them and he didn’t even know if they knew who he was. They looked rougher than the usual Nexus dweller but, then again, he knew better than to judge a book by its cover. Maybe it was just paranoia from dealing with one too many emergencies where every action mattered.

It was probably nothing.

Shaking his head, Scott bounded up the last few stairs and a smile flickered back onto his lips as he caught sight of Gil walking toward the Cultural Exchange Center. “Hey, Gil!”

He watched as Gil perked up at the sound of his voice then grinned as he spotted Scott, waving him over. “There you are! How did it go?”

Scott rolled his eyes but his smile stayed on his face as Gil slipped his hand into his. “As good as it ever goes. I’m looking forward to that drink.”

“Maybe I can help turn your day around even more once we’re back on the _Tempest_ tonight,” Gil waggled his eyebrows and all of Scott’s concerns melted away.

“Oh yeah?” He squeezed his hand, “I might just hold you to that. After those drinks. And ice cream for Meri.”

“Right. Our daughter comes first. Then the debauchery.”

“I’m glad we have our priorities in order.”

They walked, hand in hand, to the daycare center and stepped inside, both scanning the large room for a familiar head of curly red hair. Frowning as he didn’t spot Meri, Scott waved at the asari in charge. “Excuse me. Our daughter, Meri Ryder. Is she in the backroom or…?”

“Oh, Pathfinder Ryder. One of your crew members came to pick her up. They had identification from your ship, the _Tempest_ , so we released her into their custody.”

Gil dropped his hand and it took Scott half a second to run through what they’d said in his head. “What? Are you sure?”

“Yes, sir. I verified their ID myself.”

Scott and Gil looked at each other before walking back out of the daycare center. As soon as the doors slid shut behind them, Scott opened the comm link they’d set up for the crew. “Hey, this is Scott. Did someone go to the daycare and pick Meri up? You better not be spoiling her dinner, Gil and I have plans.”

Gil began to pace in front of him but Scott kept still. This was fine, it shouldn’t be a surprise. Everyone knew they were taking Meri here. Someone probably just picked her up to go do something fun—

“ _Vetra here. I have Peebee and Drack with me—have all day—none of us have left the Docking Bay_.”

Peebee’s voice echoed out over the line, “ _Help, Scott, she won’t let us leave until we finish working! You know I hate work. Ugh, I wish I was with Meri!_

Scott tried to smile but felt that he couldn’t. “Try asking nicely and if that doesn’t work, I have full faith in your ability to escape.”

He heard Vetra sigh. “ _Don’t encourage her_.”

“Liam? Jaal? Cora? Sara? Anyone have Meri with them?”

Each of them quickly responded in turn and each of them said no.

Gil quickened his pace, his voice beginning to waver as he spoke into the comm. “Suvi? Are you with Kallo?”

“ _We’re here but we don’t have Meri_.”

Scott swallowed. “Lexi?”

“ _I don’t have her. Ryder, is something wrong?_ ”

“I…I don’t—”

Gil cut Scott off, “Please tell me that one of you is joking? If this is a prank, it isn’t funny.”

None of them were and they both knew it. But that meant that…Scott felt the blood drain from his face and he saw the same sudden fear reflected in Gil’s eyes as their gazes met.

 _Scott._ He jumped as SAM spoke in his head. _The device that Mr. Brodie made for Meri included a communication link but it has been deactivated. However, the tracking function Mr. Brodie installed still seems to be operational. However, that function is not accessible to my system due to several security protocols he installed. I can override it but Mr. Brodie would likely be able to manually access the information more quickly_.

“—ott? Scott!” Scott blinked and found Gil staring into his eyes, his hands moving to rest on Scott’s cheeks. “Was that SAM? What did he say?”

He drew in a sharp breath. “Her watch! The comms been disabled but SAM says you should be able to track it?”

Gil’s eyes widened and his grip on Scott’s face tightened. “Go, back to the ship!”

They practically fell over each other as they ran back to the _Tempest_. Gil raced straight through the ship back to the engine room and quickly called up his display screen. Scott had been hot on his heels the whole way and gripped his shoulder as his fingers flew over his keyboard, numbers and code flying across the screen at the same rapid pace. “Gil…!”

“I’m trying, I’m trying…Shit. She’s not on the Nexus. Scott, she’s not even here anymore!”

“Expand the search.”

“Working on it!”

As Gil kept typing, Scott reactivated the comm link. “I need everyone back on board now! We’re lifting off in five minutes. Except, wait, Sara, stay here on the Nexus and learn what you can. Someone’s taken Meri off the Nexus.”

The immediate uproar that raged over the comm made Scott thankful for his crew but did nothing to relieve his anxiety. Someone had taken his daughter. They had too much of a head start, maybe even hours. They could be taking her anywhere. There were too many places in the galaxy to hide one small human child. What if—?

“There she is! I found her!” A shaky laugh was punched from Gil and he pointed at a set of coordinates on the screen. “Scott, they’ve jumped out of the system, heading toward the Onaon system. Wait…Damn it! The signal just cut off. They must have realized that it was a tracker too.”

Shit. Shit, they were flying blind now. But they had a direction. Scott immediately brought up a mental map of the galaxy, mind racing as he imagined what their trajectory looked like. “There’s no way they’re stopping on Aya. The angara have it too tightly guarded…What else is out that way?”

Gil shook his head. “Nol? Govorkan? Wait—”

Realization crashed over both of them at nearly the same instant and Scott slammed his hand down on the console. “Fuck! Kadara.”

Gritting his teeth, Gil turned back to his screen. “Where else would you take a kidnapped girl?”

“Get the engines warmed up.”

Everyone made it back onto the _Tempest_ with a minute to spare and as soon as they lifted off Scott had everyone gather in the Meeting Room. Gil had frantically tried to rebuild the connection to the tracker but it was impossible; whoever was on the other end had likely destroyed the whole watch. He had walked up to the Meeting Room with Scott but was unable to stand because he was shaking so badly and had to sit back against the railing. Suvi got him a hot cup of tea but it did little to help settle the tremors in his hand. It broke Scott’s heart to see but he couldn’t offer any comfort; he tried to maintain a calm exterior, he was falling apart just as quickly on the inside.

Scott told everyone everything he knew, even including the suspicious looking man that had bumped into him before he went to the daycare. It was a short story but by the time he’d finished, SAM had run a facial recognition program on the man. Nothing had come up.

At the news, Gil hung his head, rubbing hard at his eyes with the heel of his hand as his other hand clutched onto his mug of tea. “What do we do? Why would they even take her?! Humans, we’re not valuable. We’re not worth anything on the market. Are we?”

Vetra huffed out a sharp, mirthless laugh. “No. You’re too squishy and sensitive to atmospheric conditions. And there’s no point in taking a kid.”

Drack growled beside her, the noise rumbling up from deep in his chest. “She’s a Pathfinder’s kid. She’s worth something to a lot of people. Especially Ryder. You get the kid, you get the dad.”

The sick feeling in Scott’s gut intensified so suddenly and quickly that for a second he thought he was going to vomit. But just as quickly the feeling morphed into rage. “They’re gonna get me alright—!”

Before he could voice any of the sudden threats that were on the tip of his tongue, Cora spoke, the woman drawn up tight as a bowstring but her sharp eyes glaring at the image of the man Scott had seen earlier as it floated on the display in front of them courtesy of SAM. “Drack’s right. This wasn’t an accident. You said the daycare employee confirmed they had identification from the _Tempest_? We’re not missing any identification codes so they must have purposefully counterfeited one. That would’ve taken time and they would’ve had to know how they would use it. This was a pre-meditated plan.”

Jaal, who had been more horrified than any of the crew at the thought of Meri being taken, earnestly met Scott’s gaze. “I’ve alerted all of my friends in the Angaran Resistance and my family on Havarl of her kidnapping. If they take Meri into angaran controlled space, they will be stopped.”

Drack shifted with a dry hiss. “I did the same with the krogan on Elaaden. They go there, they’re dead. Krogan take the safety of kids seriously.”

Liam shook his head, gesturing at the map before crossing his arms tightly over his chest. “But they weren’t going to either of those places, were they? Ryder and Gil are right; they must be heading for Kadara. Even if we send a planet-wide alert, the whole outpost was built around sneaking past guards and regulation.”

Liam was right. Scott knew he was. Kadara was the perfect place to go to disappear. There were too many ways around the law, too many people willing to take a bribe or look the other way. Wait, no, that wasn’t true though was it? They had their own sort of law there. “I need to make a call.”

Rushing away, Scott hurried down the hall and slid down the ladders until he was in his cabin where he dove for his datapad. His fingers knew the pattern of the number he wanted without him having to think about it and it was a good thing because his thoughts were too scattered to hold on to, his mind flying from one to the next too quickly to focus on any one of them.

Reyes’s face appeared on the screen but before he could even offer a greeting, Scott was speaking, words falling from his lips before he could stop them. “Reyes! We were on the Nexus and had Meri in daycare but she kidnapped before we could pick her up! Gil had a tracker on her and it looked like they were heading towards Kadara but then the signal was cut off. I don’t know what you can do but, please, if there’s anything, anything you can do…” his voice hitched, unable to find an end to the sentence.

Reyes’s face had grown hard but he waited until he was sure Scott was finished before speaking. Unlike Scott, his voice was even and steady and the sound of it helped calm Scott back down as much as his words. “We’ll find her. If she’s anywhere in the Govorkan system, I will have her back to you within forty-eight hours.”

“I…thank you.” Swallowing hard, Scott shook his head. “Gil’s a wreck. We’re tapping into all our contacts but nothing’s coming up. Reyes, if anything happens to her, I don’t know if…I don’t know if I could take it.”

“Easy, Scott. It will be alright, I promise. I have contacts of my own. Call me if you hear anything and I will do the same.”

“Thank you, Reyes.”

 

Reyes had known that this was going to be a busy week but he hadn’t expected each and every one of those plans to get derailed in a single moment. And yet, that was exactly what happened. The moment he learned about Meri’s kidnapping he delegated everything else out to focus all his attention on finding the little girl. There a number of smaller gangs he knew of on Kadara that stooped to trafficking people, selling them off as laborers or for parts, but none that he knew of who would be quite this bold. But that didn’t mean that none of them had done it.

The first thing he checked was to make sure that none of his Collective members had taken such a thing on themselves without requesting permission. None had; a small relief. The next thing he did was to put word out as the Charlatan that there was a reward for any news regarding the girl, including a recent picture he’d received of Meri, smiling happily up at the camera, holding a stuffed pyjak Reyes had bought her in her arms. The part about a reward wasn’t even a lie. He would happily pay for information and was sure Scott felt the same. As the message spread through his web of contacts, Reyes hit the streets himself to find out if there were any new arrivals or planned arrivals.

It was long, tedious work, but fruitful, and after more than a day’s worth of sweet-talking and bribing he walked back into the Collective Headquarters. The building was nearly empty at this time of night, everyone off at Kralla’s Song or down in the slums except for Keema and a few loyal enforcers who knew the true Charlatan’s identity. Given the company, Reyes strolled in and sat himself down on the throne Sloane had built for herself to look over his list of names. It was a good start but every name he scrolled past only urged him to work faster. It had taken time, necessary given the task, but he was keenly aware that every minute that ticked by reduced the chance that Meri would be found unharmed.

He was just settling in when Keema released a surprised sound and walked over to him, a datapad in her hands. “A message just came in. It’s about the girl.”

“Forward it to me.”

It was short and straightforward and exactly what he wanted to hear: _Charlatan, we found the human girl. Small warehouse, Northwest Kurinth’s Valley_.

Energy surged through him and he bounced back to his feet. “Have them send the coordinates. Tell them not engage unless it looks like she will be harmed. I will handle this personally.”

Keema smiled and turned back to her datapad. “Yes, sir.”

He only took the time to put on protective gear and grab a pistol before heading out. He was in the lift down to the slums when Keema sent him the coordinates and, as promised, they led him to a reclaimed warehouse in the outskirts of Kadara’s hinterlands. The structure had been heavily weathered and its exterior hadn’t seen maintenance since Scott had revived the planet. It was clearly chosen for its defensible position. Partially embedded into a steep cliff, there was only one obvious way to approach the building and any lookouts would be able to see potential invaders more than a mile out. But he wasn’t worried. After all, he was known to roam about every part of Kadara and had dealings with everyone, regardless of their loyalties. Reyes Vidal was a business man, nothing more. As far as most were concerned. It had served him well on more than one occasion and he took full advantage of it now.

Slipping his pistol into his jacket, Reyes walked confidently and causally into the warehouse. Despite its dilapidated exterior, it was humming with activity inside and as soon as the front doors slid open, a good half-dozen pair of eyes were on him. He took a quick second to look around then smiled broadly as a man approached him, the apparent leader of the bunch. Reyes kept his expression friendly but made sure not to walk too far into the large, open front room. He had plans and, exposed on three sides, he wanted to ensure that his back at least would be protected. He counted the others in his peripheral vision. There were six, no, seven altogether. Two krogan, three other humans, a turian, and a salarian. There were crates piled up along the walls but he wouldn’t be able to reach them without getting himself shot. He needed to use those first few seconds to fire shots off himself instead. Good thing he always had a few extra tools packed away in his belt.

Luckily the man recognized him. Otherwise he probably would’ve had a shot between his eyes as soon as he walked in the door. “Reyes Vidal,” he drawled. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

Reyes shrugged. “Business, what else? I hear you’ve recently acquired a rather unique item.”

The man hummed and out of the corner of his eyes Reyes saw some of the other thugs shift about. None of them seemed to have weapons on hand though. Good. “We have a lot of ‘unique items’. Which one are you talking about?”

“A human girl, approximately this tall,” he held a hand out about waist high, “red hair. No?”

“Sorry, doesn’t ring any bells.”

He was lying. Even if Reyes hadn’t had full faith in the Collective’s information, he recognized a lie when he heard one. “Hm. Are you certain? Perhaps you know her better as the human Pathfinder’s child.”

“Oh, her.” His lackeys chuckled around him. “She’s already bought and paid for.”

So she was here. “I see. Perhaps you would like to reconsider. I assure you, I will offer you infinitely more than whatever they paid you.”

“Sorry, no deal.”

“Such a shame.”

The man finally seemed to register that the tone of Reyes’s voice was off. It was hard to keep up an act when your mind was full of murder. “Oh, yeah? Just who do you think you are?”

“I have many names but you may call me the Charlatan. And I don’t allow the trafficking of children on my planet.”

Their surprise gave him a precious extra second advantage. Even before he finished speaking, Reyes reached into his jacket and pulled his pistol out, beginning to shoot at the turian as he reached for his belt with his other hand and pulled out a trip mine. He threw it out just in time to catch the two krogran as they charged forward and, having unloaded several shots into the turian, took aim at two of the humans while he reached back into his belt for a detonator. The krogan stepped right into the mine and electric charge exploded, filling half the room and paralyzing the two krogan and the salarian who was caught up in the mine’s radius. Reyes activated the detonator and, fully primed from the EMP blast, bolts of electricity shot through the krogan and salarian, killing them all in one fell swoop.

By then, the other two humans left standing had found weapons but it was obvious that they were shaken by the surprise attack as their shots went off in wild directions, only one coming close enough to graze his shoulder. With the rest dead and his focus solely on the two of them, they were easy enough to dispatch, a shot in the head taking one out and three shots in the chest taking down the other.

The silence that followed had his ear ringing but Reyes waited then walked up to each of them and made sure they wouldn’t get back up with a cold precision. He finished off by scanning the whole room and nodded to himself when he was the only sign of life.

There was a chance there were more in the back room but he doubted it. They probably would’ve come running out to back-up their comrades rather than wait to ambush him. But he couldn’t be sure so he approached the door cautiously. It was locked but easy enough to hack and once the light flickered to green Reyes moved to the side and waved a hand to activate the motion sensor.

The doors slid open but was met was nothing but more silence. That was, until he heard a soft voice calling out from the back corner. “Hello?”

Meri.

Reyes stepped through the door and quickly walked toward the sound. And there, tucked away in the far corner, was Meri. In a locked _cage_ that looked like it had been built for a challyrion and Reyes wished he hadn’t killed everyone outside if only so that he could kill them again.

“Hola, chiquita.”

Meri’s gaze rose and when she spotted him her whole face lit up and she gave a little bounce. “Uncle Reyes!”

She was dirty, curly hair matted and her little outfit covered in dust, but he didn’t see any bruising or blood. He motioned for her to step back with a gentle wave of his hand. “Back up for me, Meri, and I’ll get you out.” She obeyed and he lifted his gun again. “Cover your ears; this will be loud.” He waited until she had her hands clasped over her ears then fired three shots, the last one finally breaking off the large lock keeping the bars of the cage shut.

After tucking his pistol away again, he crawled in far enough to scoop her up. As soon as she was in his arms she began to cry, big, bone-shaking sobs that just about broke his heart. “There, there.” Reyes pulled her closer and rubbed her back. “Are you alright? They didn’t hurt you, did they?” She sniffled but shook her head before burying her face against his neck and Reyes nodded. “Good.” If they had, he would have found someone to burn for it. “Let’s get you back to your fathers. They are worried about you.”

She nodded again and Reyes smiled and carried her back through the building towards the entrance. Then he remembered all the dead bodies. Wincing, he used a hand to keep her head pressed against his shoulder. She let out a questioning noise and he stroked her hair. “Shh, don’t look.”

“But the bad men—”

“They’re gone. I made them leave.”

She sniffled again and rubbed her nose against the collar of his jacket. He knew it was running but didn’t mind; his clothing had worse stains. “I, I told them to go away but they didn’t listen.”

A mixture of anger at the kidnappers and pride in Meri swelled in his chest. “You did very well. They won’t come after you again.”

“Are you sure?”

“Very.”

He had walked quickly and soon they were outside the building but Reyes only let Meri sit up in his arms once the doors closed behind them, hiding the carnage that lay inside from her curious eyes. “There we are. Here…” He pulled the end of his sleeve down over his hand then used the fabric at the end to wipe Meri’s nose. “All better. Ah, wait a moment…” Reyes set her down on the sand then pulled off his jacket then draped it over her head. Scott might have fixed the planet at its core but the atmosphere was still healing. Extended exposure to the sunlight might leave Meri with burns, which is the last thing he wanted. Though her eyes were still wet, Meri giggled as he adjusted the jacket and pulled it tight around her head like a hood.

Reyes picked her back up and smiled at her. “Look at you, as brave as your father. Both of them,” he winked. “Speaking of, let’s let your fathers know you are alright.”

Using one hand, he clumsily activated his omni tool and pulled up a video comm link. As soon as the link connected, Scott picked up. He looked frankly terrible, like he hadn’t slept in days. There were dark circles under his eyes and his stubble was about two shades darker than usual, but Reyes saw hope spark in his eyes as he met Reyes’s gaze. “ _Reyes, do you have news?_ ” He saw movement in the back and a second later Gil was peering over Scott’s shoulder, looking just as awful as his partner.

Reyes smiled. “Scott, Gil, I think I found something of yours.”

He turned the camera and he would never in his life forget the look of sheer relief that came over Scott’s face as he saw his daughter, alive and well, in Reyes’s arms. “ _Meri!_ ”

Gil disappeared from the frame for a second, appearing to sway on his feet, but he was back a heartbeat later, grabbing at Scott’s screen. “ _There’s my baby girl!_ ”

As happy as she had been just a moment ago, as soon as she saw her fathers tears bubbled back up in Meri’s eyes and she began to bawl. “Dad! Daddy! I want to go home!”

Tears pricked at Gil’s eyes and he touched the screen. “ _Don’t worry, honey, we’re coming!_ ”

Scott looked close to tears himself. “ _Reyes, thank you! I can’t thank you enough! We’ll be there in—”_

Gil interrupted, “ _I’ll have us there within ten hours. Make that eight hours_.”

“ _Are you sure we can get there that fast?”_

“ _Watch me_.”

Scott nodded then turned to look at Reyes again. “ _Alright. Eight hours, Reyes._ ”

“No problem. She’ll be safe until you get here.”

“ _I know she will be._ ”

Reyes had never been solely in charge of Meri’s welfare for such a long period of time but he consoled himself that whatever he did would be better than her previous experience in Kadara. It was an easy flight back to Kadara Port though Meri refused to separate herself from his side. He didn’t mind. He was even able to teach her a bit about flying a shuttle and had her help him land it.

As they disembarked, he took her hand firmly up in his own. “I have to make one quick stop for work and then we can go settle in and wait until your fathers arrive. Stay close though, alright? Otherwise, I might get lost.”

Her tears had dried again during the ride back and she giggled, squeezing his large hand in hers. “Don’t worry, I’ll find you.”

“I know you would. You’re very good at hide and seek.”

She laughed again and he smiled as they walked through the doors leading from the landing pads to the central area of the port. He got a lot of odd looks as they walked; he saw Scott and his family frequently but never on Kadara. He had never wanted to expose Meri to the port but circumstances were certainly different today. After what she had already been through, she was nothing but curious about the various vendor booths and people they passed by. She began asking questions about everything and Reyes was only too happy to answer them—within reason—to help distract her from what she had just endured.

Unlike the last time he had been in the Collective’s headquarters, this time it was buzzing with activity. He got just as many looks from the thugs inside but it didn’t surprise him. He purposefully didn’t spend too much time there, not wanting to raise suspicion and happy enough to let them think Keema was the voice of the Charlatan. Thankfully, Keema herself was easy enough to find, sitting on the throne that Reyes had so recently draped himself in.

When she saw him approaching, she waved away the Collective underlings around her before motioning him to come closer. He played the part of an appreciative supporter and offered a playful bow before moving close enough that they could speak without being overheard. Keema’s keen eyes were already on her as he introduced Meri. “Keema, this is Meri. Meri, this is my good friend Keema.”

Meri had tucked herself up against his pant leg but leaned around enough to give a shy wave. “Hello.”

Keema gave a small bow of her head. “It is a pleasure to finally meet you.”

Meri preened a bit at the attention and Reyes grinned before patting her on top of the head. “Meri, see that window behind Keema?” She nodded and he continued, “You can see all the shops from there. Take a look at them all and let me know what you want for a snack.”

“Okay!”

At the promise of food, she slipped away behind Keema’s throne, far enough away not to be able to hear but close enough that she was still in Reyes’s line of sight with no one else directly around her. He knew his question would only buy him a few minutes so he spoke quickly, his voice dropping as he began to discuss business. “The people who took her are dead but I’m going to send out the information from the scan I took. I want a list of the names and locations of anyone else who is involved. If they had any part in this, I want them dead within the week. Start spreading the news.”

She nodded, her own expression now as serious as his own. “I’ll see it done.”

“Thank you. I’ll be in my room at Tartarus until the Pathfinder arrives. He knows where to find me.”

“I’ll send him there if I see him.” They both stopped speaking for a minute as Meri bounded back over to them and reattached herself to Reyes’s leg. Keema smiled again and nodded down at her. “I look forward to seeing you again. For now, stay safe, little princess.”

It was a dismissal and Reyes took advantage, making his escape before any distractions arose.

Meri was happy to follow along but paused mid-chatter about what snacks they should get with a new question. “Am I a princess, Uncle Reyes? That lady said I was.”

Reyes grinned down at her and patted her hand. “You are here. Now, let us see if we can find something to eat before going down to the Tartarus.”

“Is that where you live?”

“Sometimes, but not always. I can live anywhere. My home isn’t so much a place as people; it’s a family that makes a home.”

Meri hummed as if she understood and Reyes wondered if part of her did.

They wandered around some of the shops on their way back through the port, Reyes dropping more credits than he probably should have. But it was hard not to spoil her a bit, especially after the last few days she’d had. So he bought nearly everything she asked for—at least, everything he knew was safe for human consumption—then they took the lift down to the slums laden down with bags filled with their plunder.

Reyes made sure not to wander through the Slums and took the most direct route to the Tartarus, shooting anyone who looked at him or Meri too long a dark, warning glare. They made it into the bar without incident and he ushered her into the side room that was always reserved for him and, with a quick word to Kian to send up some clean drinking water, closed the door behind them.

Once they were safely inside, Reyes finally relaxed and motioned for Meri to take a seat on the couch. She flopped down, immediately opening and digging through one of the bags to search for the candy he’d bought her. Reyes watched on in amusement before turning and activating a large screen on the far wall. “I bet we can find something nice to watch. What was that show you liked?” The last time he visited, she was obsessed with some cartoon that someone had smuggled over from the Milky Way. Now it was the only children’s show in existence in Andromeda that their species had any connection with, and, now that there were also Milky Way species children springing up, it had exploded in popularity.

Meri kicked her feet excitedly as she pulled fistfuls of sweets and piled them up in her lap. “I want to watch Blasto! Aunt Peebee let me watch it!”

“Hmm, did she? We will have to have words.” Blasto was fairly tame—at least for someone in his line of work—but from what he remembered it had more guns and punching then he thought a five-year-old should watch. “For now, let’s find something more appropriate…”

They ended up on a static-filled nature documentary because it was either that or the news. Reyes settled beside Meri on the couch and stole a piece of candy or two. It felt good to sit down and it was only then that he realized he had only slept for about three hours in the past forty-two.

Meri burrowed in against his side and between her small, comforting weight and the soothing voice of the documentary narrator, he felt himself nodding off within two hours. The only reason he’d lasted that long was the small sugar rush he’d gotten from their treats. The vids of luscious forests and snow-covered mountains blurred together in his mind and the last cognizant thought he remembered having was that maybe he could hitch a ride on the _Tempest_ and take a short vacation so that he could see something other than rocks and scrub brush.

The next thing he was aware of was a firm, unending knocking on the door to his room. Reyes blinked his eyes open and took half a second to assess. He had fallen asleep. And he had locked the door to the room after Kian had delivered a large pitcher of water. At some point, Meri had fallen asleep too but roused as Reyes gently eased her off him and moved to unlock the door. By the sound of the knocks he had a feeling about who was on the other side and, yes, a quick glance at the control panel by the door showed it was approximately eight and a half hours since he had made his call.

Reyes didn’t even have a chance to say “hello”. As soon as he unlocked the doors and they slid open, Scott and Gil both nearly fell into the room. Gil caught himself first and ran to the couch, scooping Meri up into his arms and spinning her around. Reyes watched the reunion with a smile but released a sharp sound of surprise as he was suddenly being pulled into a tight hug. Laughing, Scott pulled Reyes closer then pressed a kiss against his cheek as he finally pulled away.

“Thank you, Reyes!” His hands moved from Reyes’s shoulders to rest on either side of his face. “You’re a fucking hero, you know that?”

It took half a second to right himself but Reyes found his words at that. “Mind your language,” he chided playfully. “And I’m no hero. But I _am_ her godfather.”

“The best godfather in the Andromeda Galaxy.”

“I won’t argue that.”

Gil walked over to meet them and passed Meri to Scott before leaning in to press a kiss of his own against Reyes’s other cheek. He stepped back again with a wide smile, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. “Are we singing Reyes’s praises over here? Because I will happily join in. We owe you everything.”

Reyes recovered more quickly this time and waved a hand as Scott cuddled his daughter close. “You don’t owe me anything. Scott has done far more for me then I can ever hope to repay, undoubtedly with your help. Besides, there are no debts owed among family.”


End file.
